A Labor Department report issued Thursday on claims for unemployment aid signaled that layoffs are easing and that the economy could be on the verge of posting the first monthly gain in jobs in two years. The number of people claiming first-time unemployment benefits barely rose last week. The four-week average of claims fell for the 18th straight week – to its lowest point since September 2008. The four-week average of first-time claims is nearing the roughly 425,000 that many economists say would be a sign the economy will start creating jobs.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York pressed American International Group Inc. to withhold details of controversial deals that funneled billions in bailout money to Goldman Sachs and other banks. E-mails show lawyers representing the New York Fed asked AIG to remove the information from a draft financial disclosure. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was president of the New York Fed at the time. The deals were part of a massive rescue effort at the peak of the financial crisis. Lawmakers have accused the Fed of overpaying banks, including Goldman and Deutsche Bank, to cancel deals with AIG. The Fed says forcing the banks to take losses or disclosing more information could have worsened the crisis.

Ford Motor Co. said Thursday sales in China by the company and its local partners soared 44 percent in 2009, highlighting the country’s key role in driving demand for global automakers amid weak sales elsewhere.

A federal judge has dismissed the city of Baltimore’s first-of-its kind lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank N.A. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz explained Wednesday that the city’s claim that the mortgage giant triggered millions of dollars in damages with racist, predatory lending was not plausible. The suit accused Wells Fargo of targeting black neighborhoods for bad loans that led to mass foreclosures, costing Baltimore tens of millions of dollars. The company denied the allegations.